AN INTERVIEW WITH…BILLY BIBBY (THE WRY SMILES)

BILLY BIBBY’s first taste of stardom with Catfish and the Bottlemen during their rise to the big time. HOWEVER, he is back now with a new project – The Wry Smiles.

Bide Your Time was released last month as their first EP as a group.

They have recently completed their first tour together as a band and I caught up with Billy about what he is up to now and how it is going.

Recording Bide Your Time EP must have been fun – how was it being back in the studio?“It was great to be back – especially recording with my old friend Russ who produced the early Catfish material with us. He’s an absolute legend to work with and probably the best producer out there at the moment who charges what he does. He is incredible. It was great to be back in with a new set of lads as well. They excelled and it didn’t take them long to do their parts.”

How did the EP go down at the live shows?“It had a great first response. It was released on the first show of the tour so it was a shame crowds like Manchester and a few other places didn’t have much time to get the songs in their head but they still enjoyed the gig and it went from strength to strength.”

What is your favourite to play from the Bide Your Time?“I love playing ‘Don’t Fall’ live. As do the lads. It’s a great live song as its pretty big in parts. Also ‘this kind of summer’ is a nice song to play. The harmonies along the front three show that we have a versatility about us as a group.”

The EP is short but sweet, can we expect to hear anymore new material soon?“We are going back in the studio shortly to record a new single. It’s a little beauty and it’s going to have some real force behind it this time for radio etc so I’m really looking forward to that. Honestly you’ll be singing it after the first listen. I cannot wait!”

What has the general reaction of you being back on the touring scene been so far?“The reaction has been great to be honest. Better than I expected. We’ve had some cracking reviews already and we had a meeting on the last day of the tour to plan the next one already so we’ll be straight back out there before festival season and then for a proper tour after festival season too.”

You have been announced for Blackthorn Festival – how excited are you to be playing that?“Absolutely buzzing about it. It’s a great festival that attracts a solid line up and I Appreciate the fact they have took us on as its opened the doors now for a few other festivals to jump on board and book us too which has happened. So yeah it’s gunna be a good one and we’ll show everyone that we mean business.”

How has the exposure from XFM and Julie (XS Noise) helped push the EP to people that otherwise would not have discovered you?“It’s been a great help and one that I’ll be forever grateful for. There’s people that help you out and then there’s people that go beyond your line of duty (Julie especially) and it’s overwhelming when that happens. That tells me that they have a great belief in the music so it makes me even more determined to keep going until me and my band have reached the levels of success that we feel content with.”

This year is massive for The Wry Smiles – what are the plans for the rest of 2016?“Get new single out. New tour. EP back end of year. Simples really. Repeat and grow…”